AmeliaS
New Member
The company called REPTILE BAY, on their website and on their facebook page, is run by the same guy who runs the CHOKY TORTOISE company on facebook. These are advertised as coming from Hudson Florida. However, the address and phone number listed have turned out to be fakes and dead ends by people who tried to use those routes to contact them. Additionally, not only are they not in Hudson Florida. But instead it is one guy from Cameroon in Africa. Also, this guy has multiple fake people profiles on facebook that he uses to promote/ Share/ Like his fake turtle website tortoises available, and pretend to sell tortoises under the guise of folksy American housewife fake profiles. These aliases he set up on facebook include but are not limited to MERCY FAITH, ERICKA SILIA, JENNY KURT, KAREN GUINN, and possibly others. When people private message either of these two companies to purchase a tortoise advertised as available, they will take the money, then send an additional request for a lot more money and say it is needed for insurance shipping. Then whether the customer pays that or declines it, they are given a shipping tracking number for a fake shipping company that doesn't exist. Then when the customer gets upset and suspicious about the money taken but no tortoise coming, the Cameroon guy blocks the customer from the facebook company profiles so he can't complain in front of the other group members and prospective customers, and blocks the customer from his phone number and email.
He also owns the facebook group called "Tortoise Rehoming, Newbie help, Care & Tips. No selling or breeders", and appointed himself as Moderator through his Mercy Faith fake facebook profile. He uses this to occasionally create additional fake people profiles, advertise a tortoise that needs to be adopted out, then respond to private message requests with a request not for an adoption fee, but for various silly things such as "$10 paperwork fee", just as a way to get the person's credit card number to try to scam them. When people complain to the message board (which is really him/ the scammer), about these inapproprate private messages with money requests, the honest prospective adopters are removed and blocked from the facebook group instead. Also, most outsiders do not immediately realize that this facebook page is set up by a scammer, so there are honest people who post on that page too.
He also owns the facebook group called "Tortoise Rehoming, Newbie help, Care & Tips. No selling or breeders", and appointed himself as Moderator through his Mercy Faith fake facebook profile. He uses this to occasionally create additional fake people profiles, advertise a tortoise that needs to be adopted out, then respond to private message requests with a request not for an adoption fee, but for various silly things such as "$10 paperwork fee", just as a way to get the person's credit card number to try to scam them. When people complain to the message board (which is really him/ the scammer), about these inapproprate private messages with money requests, the honest prospective adopters are removed and blocked from the facebook group instead. Also, most outsiders do not immediately realize that this facebook page is set up by a scammer, so there are honest people who post on that page too.
